A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section, and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is compressed and delivered into the combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section.
The compressor section and the turbine section each include multiple arrays of blades and vanes. During operation of the gas turbine engine, the arrays of blades and vanes are subject to load and thermal stresses. This is particularly true in the turbine section where the arrays of blades and vanes interact with the hot combustion gases leaving the combustor section. The load and thermal stresses can be the greatest at the intersection of an airfoil and a platform. Therefore, there is a need to reduce stresses in the vanes and blades at the intersection of the airfoil and the platform.